The present invention relates generally to invalid devices and, more particularly, to an invalid device that serves as a walker and additionally has a seat that is accessible by the user as desired.
Typically, walkers are used by the elderly or invalid persons to assist in the ambulation process, that is, to enable such person to be able to walk certain distances on their own. Such walkers are quite common and, in general most commonly have a pair of side frames, generally configured as A-shape or inverted U-shape and which are joined together with one or more cross-members so that the walker is sufficiently strong to support the person. The side frames include legs that extend downwardly to contact the ground for support of the walker as the person ambulates.
Thus the upper portion of the side frames is a horizontal section that can be gripped by the user so that the walker can be used for the support as well as progressed forwardly by the user at each step. Preferable the overall unit can be formed of a tubular metal, such as aluminum, and the various components welded together to provide the necessary strength.
One of the features of some of the current walkers is the addition of a seat that can be moved into a horizontal position by the user so that the user can, as desired, sit down to rest or as needed in the event of a medical need. It is obviously important that the seat be readily available to the user when needed and yet be fully out of the way when the user is utilizing the walker to move from one location to another.
Thus, typically, the seat may have one side pivotally affixed to some member of the walker and the opposite side thereof free such that the seat may be pivoted downwardly to a generally horizontal position when needed for the user to sit down and be as easily again pivoted to an upward position out of the way when the user is trying to walk.
It has been known to provide a spring bias to the seat so that it will immediately move to its upright or vertical position when the person is not actually using the seat and, at times, that biasing can be a convenience to the user. An example of a spring biased seat is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,354,893 of Schmerl where a spring is provided to automatically return the seat to its upright vertical position. There are times, however, that the user does not want to utilize a spring biasing and would prefer that the seat remain in its lower, horizontal position so that the user can be assured that the seat will not spring to its upper, unusable position as soon as the user stands up. Thus the user is assured that when again sitting down, the seat has not automatically been moved by the spring bias to the upper position and the user can be injured by not recognizing the seat is no longer its lower, sitting position. With the Schmerl type of construction, it is not possible to readily disable the spring biasing, particularly during the use of the walker and by a person likely to have diminished physical capabilities.
Accordingly it would be advantageous for the user to be able to have the""spring bias to automatically return the seat to its vertical, upper position but, as desired, be able to disable the spring bias whenever the user desires. Since the user is invariable an elderly or informed individual, the enabling and disabling of the bias on the seat must, of course, be some mechanism that can be easily handled by such a person. Thus, it would be particularly desirable if the feature that allowed the user to enable and disable the spring bias on the seat be relatively simple and not require any complex dexterity of the user so that the process can be readily accomplished by an elderly or informed person with limited physical dexterity.
In addition, in the construction of seated walkers, there is generally a side brace that joins the two legs of each of the side frames. That side brace is important to provide the structural strength and integrity of the overall walker and, accordingly, it is preferable to that structural integrity that the side brace be located at a low position joining the legs, that is, that the brace be relatively close to the ground that is contacted by the legs in utilizing the walker.
The braces, however, are also a convenient structural component to use as support for the seat when it is pivoted to its lower, horizontal position. Therefore, there is a conflict in the construction. It is certainly advantageous for the seat to be supported by the side braces, but the design goal of positioning those side braces as low as possible would normally result in the seat being too low to be comfortable and convenient for the user. A low positioned seat, obviously, makes it difficult for the user to be able to sit and arise without difficulty. Thus, it would be advantageous to be able to construct a walker where the side braces are sufficiently low so as to optimize the structural integrity and strength of the walker, and yet allow the seat, when in its horizontal position to oriented sufficiently high so that the user can comfortably sit and stand without difficulty.
Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, a seated walker is provided that overcomes the difficulties and problems of the aforedescribed walkers and which has a frame having a pair of generally inverted U-shaped side members that are braced by side braces to insure the integrity and strength of the overall walker construction and a front cross bar joins the side members and maintains those side members in their upright position. A seat is pivotally affixed to the frame such that it can be moved between its upper position where it is generally vertically oriented and its lower position where the seat is generally in a horizontal orientation so that the user can comfortably sit on the seat. In the preferred embodiment, one side of the seat is pivotally affixed to the front cross bar and thus the opposite side, a free side, is movable in order to carry out the pivoting movement.
When in the lower, generally horizontal position, the seat is supported by the side braces by means of a pair of oppositely positioned L-shaped members that extend downwardly from the seat and which engage the side braces to support the seat. The L-shaped members extend a predetermined finite distance downwardly from the seat such that they can contact and be supported by the side braces and yet the seat itself can be maintained sufficiently high for the comfort and ease of the user in sitting and standing. In addition, with the use of the downwardly extended L-shaped members, the seat, when in its upper position, can be sufficiently moved to a position where it is out of the way of the user to allow the user optimum room to move as that user ambulates by means of the walker.
Further, the present seated walker includes a biasing means that biases the seat toward its upper, vertical position. That means is an elastic cord that is affixed to the walker, preferably to the front cross bar and which can be easily positioned by the user to encircle at least a portion of the seat to create the bias. In the event the user wants to disable the bias, it is a simple matter to remove the elastic cord from its position encircling at least a portion of the seat such that the cord can hang free and not contribute any bias to the seat. Accordingly, the elastic cord can be easily manipulated by even an informed or elderly user since it does not require considerable dexterity to enable and disable the elastic cord.
In the preferred embodiment, the elastic cord encircles the entire free side of the seat so that the cord can readily be manipulated to its biasing position about the seat. As a further feature in the preferred embodiment, there are tubular bars that extend along the sides of the seat and which capture the elastic cord when it is positioned around the free side of the seat. Thus, since the seat itself is normally covered by a suitable material to make the seat comfortable to the user, the seat covering material is also normally wearable and the continued movement and rubbing of the elastic cord against the wearable material of the seat can cause damage to that material and shorten its lifetime.
The tubular bars thus capture the elastic cord and that cord rides along the tubular bars rather than contact along the seat material. In such manner, the seat material is protected from the wear that would otherwise be occasioned by the friction and constant rubbing between the elastic cord and the wearable material covering the seat.
Other features and advantage will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the ensuing description while proceeds with reference to the following illustrative drawings.